Greetings all,
sincere apologies for post length and some cross-posting here. Defense: both compelled by science.

This post is to alert & invite all science enthusiasts to join the March for Science taking place on Saturday, April 22nd, 2017 - in 514 cities in the US and all over the world. The organizers have posted an interactive map of March for Science locations (where you can also register if inclined):https://www.marchforscience.com/satellite-marches/

There are 40 marches planned in California alone. Here is a link to the March for Science from 9-4pm in Pershing Square Park on April 22, 2017 in Los Angeles:http://marchforsciencela.com

**To all who have questions about the Goals of the March for Science:
please find the NON-PARTISAN GOALS of the March according to organizers & AAAS (Association for the Advancement of Science) summarized below and stated fully in provided links:

1) put a human face on scientists (most of us are far from what anyone could describe as elitists! AAAS page stating previous: http://www.aaas.org)

**To all those who have questions about WHO WILL and WHO SHOULD attend the March for Science:
This is NOT an ideological, one-issue march on climate change or a referendum on the Trump administration.
This is a march for anyone/everyone:
grateful for the polio vaccine & penicillin;
who wants a robot butler;
concerned about Zika;
who wonders about life on other planets;
etc.
In these already very lean times, budget cuts to programs that fund scientific research could jeopardize all we have achieved and the tremendous amount of work we’ve yet to do. Please join us if you don’t want to see that happen.

OUR BEST HOPE is that the DIVERSITY of participants & ENTHUSIASM for science on display at the April 22nd Marches is CATCHING and motivates policy makers with DISSIMILAR viewpoints to COME TOGETHER in support of our COMMMON human interests that can be advanced by well-funded & amply communicated research. In the US, such studies are funded, reviewed, and/or conducted by NIH, DOE, NOAA, NASA- all of which are undergoing budget cuts and drastic priority & administration changes (http://www.nature.com/news/us-science-agencies-face-deep-cuts-in-trump-budget-1.21652). Similarly, US agencies that review the ‘weight of evidence’ generated by independent scientists (less money, fewer & less biased studies) and stakeholders (conglomerates, product defense firms, more numerous & more biased studies) are also shrinking and undergoing administrative & priority changes. This trend is leading many to question whether agencies like the EPA, FDA, & USGS might be less able to apprehend scientific consensus, and whether the policies these agencies shape might not best protect human interests (example of funding source skewing research outcome: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0162198).

Please Join Us this Saturday.

Ps. If you’re able, please make a sign celebrating some great societal boon brought to us by science.
While it may be tempting for some to craft negative signage re current political trends, AAAS/Science Magazine is recommending that our signs champion science in a non-partisan, non-personal manner. Plenty of examples online. Most signs I have seen are comical takes on matters we need people to reflect on deeply. For instance, “Remember Polio? I don’t! Science-based policies save lives!” etc. Science advocates won’t win any arguments with overtly partisan signs. Also, fair or not, debates are often won by the side that gets the most laughs. Even debates as serious as this one.